The Art Of Lying And The Pain Of Truth
by Gypsy-Bell
Summary: Spinelli returns to Arkansas after 3 years of living in Rome. Will the secrets she's keeping make or break her friendship with TJ and the gang?
1. A Life Left Behind

**I will not ever or at any point in this fic own Recess or any of the characters from it, I'm only gonna write it once.**

* * *

><p><strong><span>The Art Of Lying And The Pain Of Truth<span>**

**Chapter One, A Life Left Behind**

_Hundreds of faces surrounded them, their faces eager to know the truth. Meanwhile, the two kids trapped inside wished more than anything that they could be anywhere else that moment. Slowly, they leaned towards each other and their lips met in a short but sweet kiss. The reaction was mutual as they both pretended to barf. _

_"Quick get me some-"_

A small cry and a soft tugging interrupted 17 year old Ashley Spinelli's dream. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself staring into the blue orbs that belonged to her 3 year old sister Rosalie.

"Wassa matta baby?" she mumbled sleepily, letting the tot climb into bed next to her, "Bad dream?"

The toddler nodded as she snuggled up to her older sister and slowly drifted back to sleep. Spinelli herself however did not. 'Why did I dream that?' she wondered, she hadn't dreamt of her old life in America since she moved to Italy 3 years ago. She hadn't spoken to her friends in over 2 years either, so why was she dreaming of them?

* * *

><p>The next day, Spinelli descended the stairs to find her 19 year old brother Joey play fighting with Rose. Before Spin could say anything, her mother yelled out from the kitchen,<p>

"JOEY SPINELLI IF YOU SCREW UP ANOTHER DAUGHTER YOU'LL BE OUT ON THE STREETS BEFORE YOU CAN SAY JUVINILLE HALL!"

"Am I screwed up?" Spin asked, sitting on the sofa next to her siblings.

"They didn't disown you for the sake of it," Joey replied, placing the little girl on Spin's lap.

Okay, so Spinelli's parents had disowned her when she was 14, her poor grades and her bad girl rep had sent her school performance down the drain and her parents hated it. There was a time when she had ruled the school, she only had to glare at a kid and they would have nightmares for a week. Not to mention the fact that her bad girl status drove the boys crazy, but unfortunately for them, she was unattainable, well... almost unattainable. TJ Detweiler was the one kid who found his way into her heart but in her last year of middle school; she broke his by moving away. The guilt hadn't left her since, whenever she saw a red cap or green jacket guilt flooded her. She dumped her boyfriend via webcam. Her family had flown out to Italy for the summer, where they'd announced that they would not be returning to Arkansas. Spin had been furious, she'd got as far as the airport before her parents caught up with her and destroyed her passport. She hadn't enough money or parental permission to get another and the rest of her family refused to talk to her.

"Joey I need you to take your sisters to town today," Bob Spinelli announced as he crossed the room to collect his briefcase.

"Why?" the teenagers asked in unison.

"You need your photos taken for the passports, make sure they're valid and that Rosalie's face is clean."

"Passports?" Spin asked curiously.

"Didn't you tell them?" Flo sighed from the kitchen doorway.

"I thought you did!" Bob defended.

"Tell us what?" Joey asked cautiously.

"We're moving back to Arkansas!" Flo grinned.

* * *

><p>"I don't get it," Spinelli sighed as she strapped Rose into her pram.<p>

"Get what?" Joey asked, climbing out of the driver's side of the car and locking it behind him.

"Why we're moving back," Spin said as she began pushing the pram away from the car park, "We only moved here in the first place because they were ashamed of me and wanted me to confess my sins in the family cathedral."

"They also wanted you away from the friends who helped me to, and I quote, 'Corrupt you'."

"You didn't corrupt me," Spin snorted, "TJ did with his good lucks and monkey boy charm."

Joey let out a laugh, "It wasn't just TJ! You played an equal part."

"You tell a teenage girl contraception is a sin and expect her not to get pregnant?" Spin raised an eyebrow.

"Pre-marital sex itself is a sin," Joey pointed out, "Guess where you're going sis."

"Another thing I don't understand, why are they taking it out on her?" Spin asked, stroking her daughter's hair.

"What?"

"It's my fault; I'm the one who sinned so why do mum and dad hate Rose?"

"Ash we have a powerful family, we're at the top of the social heap and suddenly the youngest daughter of Roberto Spinelli has an illegitimate child? Imagine the scandal, the family name would fall to ruin all because of Rose," Joey explained, "So, their daughter gets knocked up and what do they do? Well they can't stay in America because she needs to confess her sins in the Spinelli Cathedral **(A/N: Basically a place of worship only Spinelli's can go to)** which is here in Rome but they can't let word get out here either so they-"

"So they lock her in the attic for nine months and pretend she's still in America whilst Florenza Spinelli pretends that she is the one with child, making out that Rosalie Evelina Spinelli is our sister," Spin finished, shuddering at the memory of the nine months she spent alone in the dark attic.

"And nobody knows different," Joey nodded.

"Not even TJ," Spin sighed, whilst she was pregnant she could no longer video chat with her friends because of her massive belly, Joey had been her only company which had brought the two closer. Joey was the only one in the family who'd accepted Rose as an actual family member, well, there was Vito but he hadn't been heard from in four years so he didn't even know about Rose. And TJ... she was too scared to tell him the truth, he had a future ahead of him, whereas Spinelli herself was a lost cause, and she knew it.

* * *

><p>"Ashley! Joey!"<p>

"The two Spinelli's turned to see Arianna; a friend of their mother's jogging towards them.

"Hey Arianna," Spin rolled her eyes and plastered on a fake smile, "How've you been."

"Good, good, thank you my dear and oh! Hasn't Rosie grown?" Arianna cooed.

"It's Rose," Spin corrected, not that Arianna heard her.

"You know when I heard Flo was pregnant, I did not believe it," Arianna laughed, "I even thought at one point that they were covering for you! But I said 'No Arianna, don't be daft. That would make Ashley a sinner and a slut!"

Joey bid goodbye to the cackling woman and dragged his sister away before she was locked up for murder.

"You have to cool it Ash, people are gonna call you a slut and a slag and a whore but you have to rise above it!" he said sternly.

Spin glared at her older brother, before grabbing the pram and the bag with the pictures in and storming off towards the car.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, over in Arkansas, a 17 year old boy was remembering the day he had his heart broken. It had all started at the end of eighth grade when his girlfriend had announced that she was being forced to spend the summer in Rome with her family. TJ had been confused, Spin had been really down at that point and she hadn't been feeling to good either, so why were her parents taking her to Italy? His phone had rang the night before she was supposed to return and he'd answered to find a hysterical Ashley Spinelli on the other end. Her words were jumbled and fast but he got the message, the Spinelli's weren't coming home, the girl he loved, would not be returning to him. And she didn't.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>What did you think? I've seen a lot of fics where it is Gretchen or one of the Ashleys who gets pregnant but only one or two where it's Spinelli so I figured what the hell? Let's go for it and see what happens. <strong>


	2. Home Sweet Home

**scorpiogrl576****: 1st reviewer! Thank you so much for the comment! I'm glad you liked it and I'm really enjoying writing this story. BTW, gotta say it, love your name! I'm a scorpio too!**

**Odd Socks Monday****: Thanks!**

**Burton's Disney Princess****: Not sure what to say to that! Thank you so much for the kind review. I hate those stories too; you just get to the interesting part and bam, nada. I'm going to try my hardest to update as often as I can and that's a promise!**

* * *

><p><span>The Art Of Lying And The Pain Of Truth<span>

Chapter Two, Home Sweet Home

"Hey Ash!"

"What?" Spinelli asked, turning around in time for her brother to chuck a dead spider on her. "GROW UP JOEY!" she yelled batting him around the head. He was helping shift some of the boxes into her new/old room. They'd just moved the last of the boxes and had decided to rifle through some of the old stuff they'd left behind. "Joey," Spin asked slowly, looking around the clutter, "Where the hell is Rose?"

"She was here a second ago," Joey shrugged, leaning over a pile of boxes to look for the escaped toddler.

"Great," Spin bit her lip, "You lost the baby."

"_You _lost the baby," Joey corrected, emptying some boxes to see if she was hiding.

"Joey?"

"Yeah?"

"What happens here?"

"What do you mean?" Joey cocked his head in confusion.

"I mean... is... is Rose still our sister or is she-"

"She's your sister."

Spin sighed and turned to look at the speaker, sure enough, her mother was standing in the doorway. "Mum-"

"Your sister and nothing more."

* * *

><p>"There you are," Spin smiled as she found Rose playing in the corner with some styrofoam peanuts. "You'd better not have eaten those."<p>

The toddler shook her head, her deep blue eyes were wide and her soft black hair was in two messy pigtails.

"Good girl." Spin pulled the little girl onto her lap and rested her chin on Rose's head as she opened the book she'd found in one of the boxes.

"Spinny!" Rose giggled, pointing to a picture of Spin when she was 9 years old and had won the Little Miss Blush beauty pageant.

"I remember that," Spin smiled, "God I hated the Ashleys for entering me but I won all the same. That goes to show that no matter what you face in life, as long as you have self-belief, courage and amazing friends, you can succeed."

Rose stared up at her 'big sister', "Spinny!" she repeated, clapping her hands.

"Also helps if you understand a word I'm saying," Spin sighed, giving Rose a cuddle.

* * *

><p>"And I was like, Ashley T would you get a hold of yourself? So what if your granddad was coming out of hospital? We had plans and Ashleys never cancel on pedicure day, right TJ? TJ? TJ!"<p>

"Huh?" TJ asked, snapping out of his trance.

"Urgh! What is up with you lately?" Ashley A groaned, "How are we supposed to rule the school if you like, don't listen to a word I'm saying?"

"Sorry Ash," he shrugged, sitting up on his bed.

"TJ, I'm the head cheerleader and you're on the basketball team so get out of your fantasy and start listening to the status quo. We _need _to win prom king and queen for junior prom this year, no doubt about it and if you can't get your head out of the clouds some other losers will beat us!" Ashley snapped, getting off TJ's lap and wandering over to his window.

TJ stayed silent, the best choice when Ashley was angry or stroppy.

"You didn't tell me you had new neighbours," Ashley said, her voice filled with curiosity.

What was he supposed to say? 'Oh, sorry Ashley, I must have forgotten to tell you that new people were moving into my one true love's house today. Yeah you remember Spinelli, my ex? She's the only girl for me, sorry Ash.'

"Why do you care?" he asked.

"There's a teenager, about our age too. I heard there was a new girl coming to town."

"And again, why do you care?"

"I was like, just saying," Ashley snapped.

"Well don't."

"God TJ you're such an asshole," Ashley sighed, massaging her temples.

"And you're a bitch, don't let the door hit you on the way out," TJ growled.

Ashley stormed out of his room, slamming the door as she went. TJ rolled his eyes, they always fought but tomorrow everything would be back to normal and he's be Ashley's popular boyfriend again, as usual. Could his life get any worse?

* * *

><p>"And that's the time mum enrolled me in dance class," Spin laughed, pointing to another picture. This one showed her and Mikey after their performance, both with wide grins across their faces. "And then that's when we went to Hawaii! And-" Spin was cut off as she heard a soft snoring sound, she looked down at the toddler in her arms and smiled at what she saw, Rose had nodded off. She was an accident, but she was the best accident Spin ever had. Another picture caught Spinelli's eye, in the corner of the page was a small snap shot of her and TJ in fort tender, it was titled 'playing the game'. "Now that I remember," Spin whispered, stroking the photo,<p>

_"Come on Spin? Please?"_

_"TJ don't you think that's a little stupid?" 13 year old Spinelli rolled her eyes as she and TJ made their way up to fort tender. _

_"Humour me?" he asked with a pleading smile._

_"Fine," Spin sighed, "We'll play your stupid game." _

_"Yes! So what do you think when I say kickball?"_

_"Ball."_

_"What do you think when I say ball?"_

_"Bounce."_

_"What do you think when I say bounce?"_

_"Trampoline."_

_"What do you think when I say trampoline?"_

_"Gymnastics."_

_"What do you think when I say gymnastics?"_

_"Lame."_

_"What do you think when I say lame?"_

_"This game?" Spin suggested. _

_"Spi-in!" TJ moaned, splitting her name into two syllables._

_"Fine, fine, uh... the Ashleys."_

_"What do you think when I say the Ashleys?"_

_"Pranks."_

_"What do you think when I say pranks?"_

_"TJ Detweiler."_

_"What do you think when I say TJ Detweiler?"_

_Spinelli smiled as she stared into his deep blue eyes and taking his hand she said, "My boyfriend."_

"Stupid game," Spinelli smiled, closing the book and shoving it in a nearby box. Very carefully, she lifted up the sleeping Rose and carried her through to her room. She pulled back the covers on Rose's bed and tucked the toddler in, making sure she had her pink bunny with her before heading downstairs.

* * *

><p>"Is it weird that I call her my girlfriend and not my ex?" TJ asked as he and Vince hung out in his room.<p>

"Dude you _have _a girlfriend and it's not Spinelli," Vince pointed out.

"Yeah but Spin was the first girl I ever well... loved."

"Yeah but you're with Ashley now."

"But that's the thing, I don't feel the same with Ashley as I did with Spin," TJ sighed, "Spin wasn't just my girlfriend, she was my best friend. Ashley, well I wouldn't even call her a friend."

"Spinelli moved Teej, there's nothing you can do about it. Your relationship lasted long distance for 3 weeks though, I'd say that's an achievement."

TJ sighed, he and Spinelli had carried on dating after she left, but it just didn't last.

"Have you ever thought about, you know... dumping Ashley?" Vince asked, "You're obviously not interested in her."

"She wants us to win prom king and queen this year, if I dump her now she'll make my life a misery."

"Look around you Teej, how much more miserable can you get?"

"I've hit rock bottom haven't I?" TJ groaned, bashing his head down on his desk.

"You said it buddy, you said it."

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for the reviews, I love to hear what people think :)<strong>


End file.
